(RxWiki News) A woman's biological clock ticks on its own accord with some ladies aging more quickly than others. Before, guessing how long one remains fertile has been just that: a guess.
A large study from the British Isles has now established average levels for anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) for health girls and women. The AMH level can predict how much longer a woman will be able to conceive.
"Ask your infertility doctor about testing for AMH."
Tom Kelsey, a lecturer in the School of Computer Science at St Andrews reports that a body of science has already indicated that high AMH levels is productive for achieving a pregnancy, but until now, there were no data statistically to validate it. Through this team's research, normal healthy levels have now been established.
Richard Anderson, Professor of Reproductive Medicine at the University of Edinburgh adds that how much longer a woman will remain fertile can be predicted by AMH changes. The decline in levels with age is normal and all eventually lose fertility.
Hamish Wallace, M.D., a pediatric oncologist at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh reports that currently, there is no recommended test that can predict how many undeveloped eggs a woman has remaining.
The doctor suggests that this test will be a great tool for a young female cancer patient to understand their fertility options and preserve the eggs before cancer treatment. The researchers hope that the findings regarding AMH levels will lead to the development of tests that can predict how much longer a woman will remain fertile.
Professor Scott Nelson of the University of Glasgow reports that doctors are now able to predict a female's potential reproductive lifespan based on how her current AMH levels stack up against the normally expected levels for her age. Family planning will be enhanced.
Prior research has already established that low levels of AMH lead to less successful in vitro fertilization attempts. This study examined 3,200 samples from healthy girls and women from a wide variety of age groups to establish average levels for each age. Now, fertility experts will be able to determine if a patient's AMH levels are in the normal range.
These findings are likely to help younger women establish a timeline of expected fertile years.
